Mary Janes Last Dance
The Youbou Community Music Fest is offering another dance at Youbou hall on Saturday, November 11. Doors open at 7:30 pm for Maryjane’s Last Dance, a Tom Petty Tribute Band. A generous $5 from each ticket will be donated to the Lake Cowichan Legion Branch 210. Tickets cost $35 each and, until November 7, can be purchased at Daly’s Auto Centre, Youbou General Store, Lake Cowichan Chiropractor, Sugarwell, Tiptons Gas Bar, and Patrick Miller Pemberton Homes. All presale tickets will be entered in a draw to win a Band T-Shirt. Tickets will be available at the door but won’t be entered in the T-Shirt draw. To find the latest information, you can sign up on Facebook for Youbou Community Music Fest.
Youbou Christmas Craft Fair
Get a headstart on your Christmas shopping at the CVRD annual craft fair at Youbou Hall on Saturday, November 25, from 10 am to 2 pm. You’ll find homemade treats, creative handmade crafts, and home-party show items. If you wish to book a table ($15 each) to sell your treasures, call 250-749-6742. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. for setup. Please specify if your table is handmade only, or other. The second floor is accessible by stairs only. The Youbou Community Association will again be offering a concession for lunch.
New Year’s Tickets on Sale
Welcome 2024 by celebrating at the grand New Year’s Eve party at Youbou Hall, hosted by the Youbou Community Association. The Joints aka Eagle Eyes is returning to play for the hometown crowd, with music starting at 9 pm (doors open at 8 pm). Yes, included are the midnight balloon drop, noise-makers, non-alcoholic drinks, pre-midnight buffet, and all the trimmings. Tickets ($50 each) are will soon be on sale in Youbou at Youbou General Store, Daly’s Auto Centre, and Youbou Bar & Grill, as well as in Lake Cowichan at Ed’s Coffeehouse. YCA Board members are also selling tickets. The YCA is working on shuttle arrangements and the contact information for reserving seats on the shuttle will be printed on the tickets.
Youbou Bar & Grill Events
The pub is offering some delicious opportunities to cozy in with friends this fall. Sign up ahead for special dinners. On Friday, November 10, the Youbou Bar & Grill is serving a special Hunters Dinner, a three-course meal with beverage pairings. On November 25, Kent Ball is coming back to play during a special dinner with wine pairings.
Movie nights are on tap for Saturday night date night, all starting at 8 pm. 50 First Dates is slated for November 4, Casablanca for November 11, and Jurassic Park for November 18. So put away the remote, change out of your jammie pants, and come out to socialize!
Area I Community Plan Update
Be sure to express your thoughts by taking the survey on planyourcowichan.ca It will remain open until Wednesday, November 15.
On Saturday, October 28, Area I residents attended the third in a series of Community Planning activities. Input on the future vision for Youbou and Area I was the first topic. Audience members wanted the road, the church, elk, and parks added to the suggested vision.
Remaining topics covered were housing, daily needs, infrastructure, and transportation. Audience members suggested ownership of single family homes was most desired, with some accommodation for seniors. Concern was expressed about short-term rentals and how that is affecting the lake community. Services close at hand for daily living seemed to be satisfactory for most, with people feeling the store and gas station in Youbou are handy, as are the Lake Cowichan services. Infrastructure generated conversation with concern about current services being strained by any new development. Communication infrastructure needs to be improved, although this is not in the purview of the CVRD. Transportation generated the most discussion with recognition that the one road through Youbou gets too busy to allow for safe walking and cycling. Youbou Lands, which is a special interest area, came up during the Q&A. Attendees expressed concern that the kind of development currently planned for the old sawmill property would add too much traffic to the road, plus possibly strain existing infrastructure. Many other good points were raised during the meetings, which will be considered for the next round.
Look for another public meeting in Spring 2024 as we move toward finalizing the Community Plan.
Cassy’s Coffeehouse Closes
On a sad note, Youbou is saying good-bye to Cassy’s Coffeehouse, which closed its doors permanently in October. Many of us fondly remember the warm, cozy atmosphere, the mellow cups of coffee, steaming bowls of soup with homemade buns, and those very satisfying multi-course Friday night dinners. More than a coffee shop, Cassy’s always tried to support the community, offering a venue for Jones’ Christmas Village to raise funds for cancer, compiling baskets for neighbours who needed a little extra cheer at holiday time, sponsoring a winning Lady of the Lake candidate, and hosting fundraising dinners, for the Youbou Community Church and other causes.
However, it was the day-to-day that was most rewarding. “We had regulars who began to feel like family,” Cassy shares, “but we also welcomed travelers from all over.” Pat recalls that sometimes they had to coach adventurers how to prepare for the wilderness that lay beyond Youbou. “The map on the side of the building wasn’t always enough,” he laughs. Cassy shares that when they opened the coffeehouse in 2014, they were surprised by the demand people had for food, beyond a cup of coffee. Soon they were serving lunches, then weekly dinners, and eventually got a liquor license too. The business even expanded into catering, especially during holiday time. “Sometimes it got pretty busy,” Cassy says, “but we were lucky to have Tammy to help us. We couldn’t have done it without her.” The little coffeehouse on the hill may have poured it’s last cup, but Cassy and Pat will be staying on. They love Youbou and look forward to remaining part of the community in the days to come.
Pickleball at the Hall
Youbou Hall is open for pickleball most weekday mornings, but if you want to drop in when you’re sure other players will be pickling, opt for Monday mornings around 9:30.
Witch’s Paddle
Youbou’s spell-binding witches traded brooms for paddles on Saturday, October 14. About 30 would-be witches and warlocks of all ages convened at Arbutus Park under cloudy skies during the eerie-looking solar eclipse. Julie Madden, who conjured the event, warmed up the cackling crowd with a witchy wiggle and twitch to the Monster Mash. After that, it was everyone to their stand-up paddleboards or kayaks for a float around the calm sawmill bay. A couple of witches did take a spill, but they happily floated and quickly got back on their crafts. Thanks to Garry and Eva who had their pontoon boat out for safety, just in case. And kudos to the photographers who shared their bewitching images on the Youbou Community Association facebook page. The event even made the front page of the Lake Cowichan Gazetteand Citizen! Julie was thrilled with the turnout and promises “a bigger and splashier Witch’s Paddle next fall!”
Halloween at Youbou Hall
Youbou once again proved it knows how to make you shiver, shake, and shriek for Halloween. This year’s haunting offered a creepy town, complete with mad-scientist’s ghoulish lab, a cagey pet shop, bewitching school with spooky clown playroom, and a haunted witch’s mansion. Special thanks to Connie Vaughn and her cast of goblins, ghouls, and gremlins, who spent day after day decorating, and to those donned costumes to scare you silly on either Sunday afternoon or Halloween night.
Merry not scary: For the wee ones who might not appreciate the scariness of a haunted house, the YCA again offered the popular ghoul-fishing pond in the happy pumpkinland downstairs.
Costume Contest: Over 100 daring souls entered the costume contest for all ages and sizes, with prizes awarded by the CVRD, the overall sponsor of the hall night. The Youbou Volunteer Fire Department served refreshments and masterfully staged the school yard fireworks.
Salute to Youbou Firefighters
They bring joy to our lives on special occasions with Halloween fireworks, regatta breakfast, and Santa fire-truck visit, but the Youbou firefighters do so much more for our community. We are grateful and thank them for their service, day-after-day, whenever we need them. Hats off to:
Chief Orest Smycniuk, Deputy Chief Cam Hamilton, Captain Grant Daly, Captain Faron Harvey, Captain Todd Vaughan, Lieutenant Bill Cheal, Lieutenant Stu McKee, Lieutenant Dave Sutfin, Lieutenant Ed Vanherwaarden, Jillian Bradley, Jarret Hambley, Elly Hamilton, Lori LaFave, Richard Madill, Kim Smycniuk, Preston Schedel, Elijah Vaughan, Emily Vaughan, Justin Vaughan, and Maddie Vaughan.
Bowling
It’s not too late to work in a game or two at our historic Youbou bowling lanes this fall. Take advantage of one of the many bowling opportunities:
Drop-In
Fridays, 6:30 to 9:30 pm: Loonie night is the first Friday of each month.
Saturdays, 7:30 to 10:30 pm: Toonie night is the third Saturday of each month.
November 18: 1:00 to 3:00 pm: one fee for bowling, shoes, and gym
Leagues
No experience necessary, no equipment needed, drop-ins welcome.
Thursdays: Ladies’ 10-pin, 7 pm.
Tuesdays: Men’s 10-pin, 7 pm.
Private parties: Lane reservations are available for non-league nights.
Pinsetters wanted: The bowling alley is welcoming applications for Pinsetters and a substitute Bowling Alley Host. To apply, contact Cowichan Lake Recreation at 250-749-6742.
Are You a YCA Member?
The Youbou Community Association is involved in helping community activities happen, such as the monthly newsletter, Crabfest, garage sales, clean-up, New Year’s Eve, and other events throughout the year. While we love our facebook friends, an official family lifetime membership in the organization is just $10 and involves filling out a form. It is a key to knowing what’s going on around Youbou as well as giving you a vote at our annual meetings. We’ll email you our colourful community newsletter every month. To join, reach out to cherylmtutor@gmail.com
Got News?
If you’d like to contribute news for the newsletter about a public event happening (or not happening) in or around Youbou and Area I, please send particulars about date, time and place to julia@raedwulf.org, by the 20th of the month, please. You can also check our web site at youbouyca.com and our Youbou Community Association facebook page for the latest information.
Calendar
November 3: Loonie night, Bowling Alley
November 4: Movie night: 50 First Dates, Pub, 8 pm
November 10: Hunters Dinner, Pub
November 11: Mary Janes Last Dance, Youbou Hall, 7:30 pm
November 11: Movie night: Casablanca, Pub, 8 pm
November 15: Survey for Area I Community Plan closes
November 18: One-fee bowling, 1 pm. Toonie night bowling
November 18: Movie night: Jurassic Park, Pub, 8 pm
November 25: Youbou Christmas Craft Fair, Youbou Hall, 10 to 2
November 25: Kent Ball, Pub
December 31: New Year’s Eve, Youbou Hall, 8 pm
Fridays: Drop-In bowling, Bowling Alley, 6:30 pm
Saturdays: Drop-in bowling, Bowling Alley, 7:30 pm
Fridays: Open Gym, Youbou Hall, 6:30 pm
Tuesdays: Men’s League, Bowling Alley, 7 pm
Thursdays: Women’s League, Bowling Alley, 7 pm
Your YCA Board
Chair: Julia Martinusen
Vice chair: Sandra McAfee
Secretary: Randall Wilson
Treasurer: Steve Watt
Membership: Cheryl Morgan
At large:
Monica Ash
Joelle Belanger
Pat Miller
Debbie Smith
Joe Tatham